


Spider Sonny

by tooberjoober



Category: In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: M/M, also some marvel characters and stuff but I don't wanna flood their tags with my garbage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2018-12-05 07:26:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11573241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tooberjoober/pseuds/tooberjoober
Summary: A fic based on limpblotter's au where Sonny is Spider-Man. Sonny is spidey, just doing his best to help people out and Pete is both his love interest and a villain. Will they find out before they fight to the death? Will they manage to fall in love despite being on separate teams? Tune in to find out…





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LimpBlotter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LimpBlotter/gifts).



> Welp that was a sucky summary. But yeah basics of this fic. Limpblotter is super amazing at headcanons and aus and stuff. Hopefully I'm doing her au justice. Hope you like it!

Sonny kept glancing between his English notes and the clock, hoping desperately that the bell would ring soon. He started gathering his things, quietly though so that the teacher wouldn't yell at him. Other students noticed and started packing up their own things. The teacher realized that he wasn't going to get much more information to the students, though he was an ardent preacher of the "bell doesn't dismiss you" club. He sighed and gave a few reminders to do homework and stay safe over the weekend. 

The bell rang and Sonny leapt away from his desk as fast as he could. He had about an hour before Usnavi expected him at work. An hour to clean up the city streets. He ran through the school's busy hallways until he escaped to a nearby alleyway, the empty alley was a stark contrast from the hallway filled with loitering students. Sonny quickly looked both ways before dropping his backpack and changing into his suit. 

He quickly swung back to his apartment to drop off his backpack. Usnavi would kill him if he lost another one. Sonny spent the next hour doing his usual Spider-Man duties, which right now mostly consisted of minor robberies and helping tourists find where they were going. Aside from that there wasn't too much he could do. Besides, he promised the big boss guy that he'd stay a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. 

Sonny sighed, catching sight of a homeless man. He dropped down, handing the man a dollar, he always kept spare change on him for this purpose. He had to talk to Mr. Stark about turning the old avengers headquarters into a center for the homeless or something useful instead of just storage space. 

Sonny finally stopped his spider spree just outside of his apartment building. Sitting on the fire escape he looked around until he finally saw him. Sonny crept across the wall until he was a bit closer to the ground before he jumped down. "Hey you uh, know vandalism is technically illegal." He said, trying to disguise his voice. He walked up behind a teen that was about two years older than him, spray painting Spider-Man's likeness, Sonny's likeness onto the apartment building. 

Pete pouted, turning around. "Aw c'mon Spidey, I'm not hurting anybody. Besides I think I finally got you down." 

"It is pretty cool." Sonny admitted, in awe of the painting that took up the wall. "You got a real talent, Pete." He said softly. 

"Hey, how'd you know my name?" Pete asked, with sparkling eyes. He wiped beads of sweat off of his forehead with a lazy smile that made Sonny's heart beat faster. 

"I…uh, know everybody in the neighborhood. Especially the criminals." He cleared his throat, trying to sound manlier than he felt. "Which uh…you kinda are. Vandalism. That is." 

Pete scoffed. "What're you gonna do about it Spider-Man? Got some handcuffs hidden in that spandex? Doesn't sound like too bad of a punishment." He winked at Sonny over his shoulder. 

Sonny cleared his throat, glancing away, butterflies gathering in his stomach. He shot a web to a nearby fire escape, hoping that the butterflies would fly away as he did. "Well I gotta go, I got bigger threats to catch. Stay outta trouble Pete." He winked, though he realized that due to his mask the wink didn't do much. "I uh…just winked." He said. "Bye!" He swung out of sight of his crush. 

Pete smiled slightly as Spider-Man left the alley. Afterwards he looked at his painting and scoffed slightly, grabbing one of his rags and wiping his hands off. Bigger threats. If only he knew. Pete needed a cold drink. Maybe he'd stop by Usnavi's bodega, get a soda, see if Sonny was working. It had been a while since Sonny had seen one of his paintings or anything. Hell it'd been a while since he even saw him. 

A pair of two men stopped at the entrance to the alley. They both were dressed in dark clothing, one wearing a torn up bomber jacket, the other wearing a hoodie and some sort of high tech glove. They entered the alley, the man in the bomber jacket getting closer to Pete than the other, who he assumed was just for backup. "That's some nice work kid." The man said, looking the painting up and down. "Our own local annoyance, magnified." The man said, looking at the painting with distaste.

Pete sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "What's the problem this time?" 

"We're in a bit of a pickle financially this month. We need your payment now." The man said, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Pete scowled. "I don't have it yet." 

"Get to it kid." The man said. "We need it by the end of the week or you know what will happen." The man said it casually, as if they were discussing the weather rather than illicit activities and threats. Pete had heard this very same threat for the past two years, ever since he started this 'prowler' gig. He hadn't wanted to, but he had no choice. He was already working two jobs, trying to keep himself and his mother afloat. When someone offered him such a big amount for something so small, how could he refuse? But the men that started by helping him out then turned into loan sharks, demanding compensation for the suit they gave him. 

Pete had no choice. "Fine." He shook his head, looking down. The men left him, no longer paying attention to him. Pete looked up at his painting of Spider-Man. In an odd sort of way he idolized him. They were on opposite sides, but that didn't mean that Pete couldn't respect him for what he did. They were both just doing their best. Pete sighed. "Just a couple more weeks, then I'll be done." Pete made the promise to the mural, gathering up his painting supplies and starting the trek back to his apartment. He had an errand to run. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just goes to show what you can do with a bit of inspiration lol. I'll update my other fics soon, I just got more inspiration for this one right now. It's fun and stuff. Anyways thanks, hope you enjoy!

"Sonny, you're late." Usnavi said, from the back, hearing his cousin enter the store. 

"Damn." Sonny muttered, he had been trying to be sneaky. Didn't work. "You know you love me." He offered Usnavi his widest, most charming smile as he slid over the counter. 

"What I'd love is for my only employee to be on time." Usnavi retorted, coming from the back carrying an armful of cups and napkins. "Where do you get off to before you come here?" He asked, putting the cups behind the counter and handing Sonny a broom. "You better not be vandalizing property with that kid." 

"Yo, Usnavi relax." Sonny rolled his eyes. "I haven't even seen Pete in like a month! Besides he's an artist." He said, taking the broom from his cousin and going around the counter to start sweeping. 

"He's a vandal." Usnavi argued. 

"He can be both!" Sonny said with a groan. 

"Speak of the devil." Usnavi grumbled as the bell on the doorway jingled, drawing attention to the door, where Pete was walking in with his wallet out. 

Sonny immediately looked up and smiled. "Hey Pete!" He grinned, forgetting the broom and his duties for a second in exchange for seeing his friend, and crush. "How's it going? It's been too long!" 

"Sonny get back to work." Usnavi said, rolling his eyes at his cousin. "You're not just coming around just to loiter are you?" He asked Pete. 

"Does this look like I'm just loitering?" He rolled his eyes, snagging a drink from one of the fridges. He shot a smile to Sonny as he made his way back to the cash register. 

"Wait, no! I got it!" Sonny said, digging through his pockets for a couple of dollar bills. He ran towards the cash register, stumbling along the way. 

"Sonny, you really don't have to." Pete said, pulling a bill out of his wallet. 

"Nah, I want to." Sonny insisted, shoving the bill towards Usnavi. 

"Sonny, I'm not taking your money." Usnavi sighed, rolling his eyes at his cousin's lovesick behavior. 

Sonny looked at Usnavi with big pleading eyes. "Aw, c'mon cuz, please!" 

Usnavi groaned. "Fine. It's on the house, Pete, just get out of here and stop distracting Sonny." He said, turning around and straightening some stuff out behind the counter. 

"Thanks, Sunshine." Pete smiled, winking at Sonny as he started towards the door. 

"Hey, wait!" Sonny exclaimed, following him. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's uh, been a while. How's it goin?" 

"It's going." Pete shrugged, looking down. "How's school?" 

"It's school. Starting to apply to colleges." He said, suddenly deflated at Pete's disinterest. He kicked an imaginary stone. 

"Oh, you're not leaving, are you?" Pete asked, looking up at Sonny. 

"Hopefully not. Can't afford out of state." Sonny chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Uh, look Sonny, I gotta head out, got an appointment, but I'll be back soon. Maybe we can hang out sometime next week? But yeah, not right now." Pete said, glancing out of the door. 

"Oh yeah, uh, see ya." Sonny nodded, feeling even more deflated than before. 

"I promise, we'll get together soon." Pete said, heading out the door. 

"Okay." Sonny forced himself to smile, watching Pete walk out and down the street. 

"Sonny," Usnavi sighed, looking at the cash register. "You know I just want you to be happy. Thing is, I don't think Pete's the way to be happy." 

"What're you talking about?" Sonny asked, picking the room up and resuming his sweeping. 

"You can do better." Usnavi insisted. "This little crush on him isn't gonna go anywhere." 

"I don't have a crush on him!" Sonny exclaimed, face flushing a bright red. "I just…ya know…" 

"Admire him, sure." Usnavi rolled his eyes. 

They went through the rest of the evening in almost complete silence, serving the few customers that came into the bodega. They started cleaning up, Usnavi counting the money in the register. "Hey Sonny can you do me a favor and take out the trash? Then I can lock up." 

"Alright, I'll meet you upstairs." Sonny said with a nod, grabbing the trash bag and slinging it over his shoulders. He walked outside, humming to himself. He dropped the bag in the trash can and started walking towards the fire escape.

But as Sonny was climbing, he heard something going on on the next building's fire escape. A man in a jet black suit was catching his breath as he looked into a bag. Sonny froze, watching as the man pulled the bag closed and threw it over his shoulder again. Sonny watched as the man climbed further up the fire escape before jumping to the next building. It was amazing, it looked like the man could fly. Sonny watched in awe until the man was out of sight. Only then did he realize that the man was likely doing something illegal and he should have stopped him. 

Sonny sighed, climbing up until he reached his floor, before he pulled out his cellphone. "Hey, uh, Happy? I saw this guy, in like an all black suit, sorta like mine but bulkier. And I'm not sure, but I think he stole some stuff." 

"What do you mean you're not sure?" The tired sounding man asked. 

"Well, like I only saw him from a distance." Sonny said, shrugging. "I didn't see any damage or anything so it's nothing too bad, I just wanted to tell you. Could you see if Mr. Stark has ever heard of a guy like that? Alright, thanks." Sonny nodded. "Talk to you later Happy." Sonny climbed into the apartment he shared with Usnavi. 

"Sonny?" Usnavi called from the kitchen. 

"Yeah, it's me." Sonny responded, starting to walk to where his cousin was. 

"Listen, I know I seem like a hardass when it comes to your little crush on Pete-" 

"I don't have a crush on him and I don't know what you're talking about." Sonny said quickly, looking down. 

"Yeah, whatever, but Sonny, he's no good for you." Usnavi said. "You wanna be his friend? Fine, he probably needs them. But the free stuff has to stop. He's going to take advantage of you." 

Sonny bristled at what Usnavi said. "No, he wouldn't." He frowned. "You may see him as a good for nothing, but Pete's not a villain. He's got a job and he's trying his best." 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *trumpet noises* another new chapter! I don't really know where I was going with this I just wanted a bit more filler before we got to actual plot. Hope you like it!

Pete slipped into his apartment, hiding the bag where he always did. All the lights were off, and the tv was on in the living room. It didn't worry him too much. His mom always ended up falling asleep in the living room. Pete slipped out of his suit, putting it away with the cash. He walked over to his mother and scooped her up, taking her to her room and tucking her into her bed. He kissed her forehead and silently promised her that soon things would get better for them. He knew they would. 

* * *

Sonny yawned, putting up his school notes and noticing that the lights were still on in the other room. He sighed, standing and stretching. He walked into the living room and peeked around, seeing his cousin asleep at the counter, a small pile of bills and letters acting as his pillow.

Sonny groaned, kicking at Usnavi's chair. "Yo, 'Navi, get up." 

Usnavi let out a string of curses in Spanish, slowly opening his eyes and glaring groggily at Sonny. "What?" 

"You fell asleep at the counter again." Sonny sighed. "It's like midnight." 

"So what?" Usnavi frowned. 

"So you aughta get to bed. Like real bed." Sonny clarified. He sighed, grabbing Usnavi's arm and pulling him out of the chair. He steadied his cousin as they slowly walked down the hall to Usnavi's bedroom. Sonny let his cousin go, and he fell face first onto the bed. Sonny sighed, running a hand through his hair before grabbing a blanket and draping it over his tires cousin. "G'night Navi." Sonny said, closing the door and leaving his cousin be. 

Sonny sighed, running his hands through his hair as he walked to his room. He stripped down to his boxers and flopped onto his bed. He grabbed his phone, one of the many gifts from Mr. Stark. Sonny didn't really like the handouts, but he was kind of working for it. All the super hero stuff was like paying for the tech. Mr. Stark had talked about giving Sonny a full ride at Stark University, although Sonny didn't know if he wanted to go somewhere so far from Usnavi and the bodega and…Pete. 

Sonny sighed, pulling up his pictures and scrolling back a couple of months to the last time he hung out with Pete. It was right before Mr. Stark recruited him to be the new Spider-Man. Pete was painting, Sonny was watching in awe. Everything was simpler. Even now, things were simpler and easier with Pete. Even when he was in the suit, Sonny still felt the same way as he did the first time Pete painted his portrait and Sonny realized that he was in love with his best friend. 

Sonny sighed, rolling over in his bed. "Hey Claudia?" Hey said softly to the voice, or it would be more accurate to say personality, that inhabited his phone, his suit, and any other technology he hooked her up to. 

"Yes, Sonny?" The woman's voice asked. 

"I don't know why, but Usnavi really doesn't like Pete." Sonny said. 

"He does have a minor criminal record." Claudia reminded him. 

"Ugh, you sound like Navi." Sonny scoffed, rolled his eyes. "Claudia, do you think Pete could like me? Like, like me like me." Sonny clarified. 

"It's a possibility." She said in her constant even tone of voice. "But you know my thoughts on you." 

"It's kinda weird that a robot can have opinions and stuff." Sonny said thoughtfully, after a moment. 

"Well, what are brains but an elaborate program." Claudia offered. 

"I guess you're right." Sonny nodded with a yawn. "Goodnight, Claudia." Sonny said, shutting off his phone and rolling over to go to sleep.

* * *

Every since Sonny became Spider-Man he started waking up early and going out on the fire escape. He'd climb up as far as he could and look at the city. It was peaceful then, even though it still retained the constant noises of the city in the background. Sonny smiled to himself as he thought of a terrible pun he could make. He took a picture of himself with the sunrise in the background and sent it to Pete saying, "Sunshine in the sunrise." 

Sonny knew it was a lame joke, but he liked it and hopefully Pete would too. He'd been thinking about Pete a lot lately. He couldn't really help it. Okay maybe he could, but as the Spider-Man he had the right to check in on any and all citizens he was worried about. And Sonny did worry about Pete a lot. About as much as Sonny worried about Usnavi. Usnavi was easier for Sonny to help though. Usnavi let Sonny work and used the money from his "internship" with the Stark company for rent and Sonny's college plan. Sonny couldn't really help Pete. And especially not with Usnavi breathing down his neck with every freebie. 

Sonny could remember when he first met Pete. He was helping Usnavi out in the shop when he was thirteen. Pete walked in and he just oozed confidence and coolness. Sonny immediately saw him and knew that that guy never got picked on for anything. So when Pete snuck a bag of chips into his hoodie pocket, Sonny stopped him and gave him the money he needed for the chips. After that he helped Pete whenever he came in. He never got a thank you or anything, but he didn't mind. 

And then, Sonny happened to pick a fight with some bullies not too far from the store. They outnumbered him and they were all bigger and older than him as well, so he didn't really have a choice but to sit there and hope it was over soon. But Pete was his saving grace. He knew the guys and smoothed things out. He finally introduced himself to Sonny and thanked him for everything. That afternoon they sat outside the bodega with popsicles and hung out for hours. That's when Sonny found his best friend. 

But after Pete dropped out of school they saw each other less and less. Now it seemed almost like Sonny only saw Pete through the suit or in the bodega. It wasn't fair. Sonny missed his friend, but he knew that times were tough and that Pete was busy. And Sonny was okay with that, really he was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit more plot in this chapter, a lot of gossiping. Carla and Vanessa know what Pete's been going through. Danni knows too, but Danni knows literally everything in the barrio. *cough*sheknowsSonnyisSpidey*cough* Anyways, hope you enjoy it!

Vanessa hurried into Danni and Carla's appartment, slightly out of breath. "Hey guys!" She greeted Carla and Pete, who were hanging out on the sofa, both eating popsicles in an attempt to ward off the heat. They both waved in response. 

"You guys will never believe what happened last night." Vanessa said, falling onto the sofa and dropping her purse to the floor. "Last night I met the one, the only…Spider-Man!" She exclaimed, gesturing excitedly with her hands. 

Pete's eyes widened slightly, and Carla nearly dropped her popsicle. "What? No way!" Carla exclaimed. "What happened? Give us the details!" She demanded, scooting closer to Vanessa. 

"Okay so I was walking home from work, minding my own business. I had headphones in and I was a little zoned out. So apparently these creeps had been following me!" She huffed. "I didn't even notice, but thankfully someone did. He came down and beat them up and scared them off before I even noticed them! Then he comes up to me and he asks if I'd like him to walk me home." 

"What'd he sound like?" Pete asked curiously. 

"I dunno, his voice was disguised." Vanessa shrugged. "But so anyways I accept and we walk home together and chat. He seems like a nice guy. Probably a bit younger than I thought he was, but still just nice." She nodded. 

"Wow, that's cool." Carla said. "Not that he had to help you out, but that you got to meet him." She clarified. 

"I understand." Vanessa said with a shrug. 

"You know I've actually talked to Spider-Man a couple of times…" Pete said, rubbing the back of his neck. "He says he likes my paintings. And then I normally flirt with him until he leaves." Pete looked down. "Like not that I want him to leave, he just does. Sometimes I think he's tried to flirt back." He smiled to himself. 

"And you're just telling us about this now?" Carla demanded. "Nessa! Petey over here is dating Spider-Man!" She exclaimed, grabbing Pete's shoulders. 

"I'm not!" Pete's face reddened, batting Carla's hands away. "Maybe I like him, but I don't even know what he looks like or who he really is! Besides you know with my…part time job we wouldn't be a good fit." Pete looked down, embarrassed. 

"This gig won't be forever." Vanessa promised, moving next to Pete. "It's just till you make enough to get those jackasses off your back, right? You're not a bad guy, Pete." 

"Still…" Pete looked down, biting his lip. "It just wouldn't work. Doesn't stop me from appreciating the spandex though." He chuckled, obviously trying to lighten the mood. 

Danni walked into the appartment with a bag of groceries, walking over and kissing Carla gently. "Hello Carla, free loaders." She added, looking over her shoulder fondly at Vanessa and Pete. 

"Aw c'mon Danni, they didn't eat anything! The only thing they're getting for free is some shade and our shitty air conditioning." Carla said, walking over to her girlfriend and wrapping her arms around her waist. "Besides, you know you love them." She smiled, kissing Danni's cheek. 

"Not as much as I love you, angel." Danni responded, looking into Carla's eyes. 

Pete and Vanessa both groaned and made barfing noises. "You guys are disgusting!" Vanessa exclaimed. 

"Get a room!" Pete chimed in. 

Danni raised an eyebrow, holding Carla tightly to her side. "This is our room. You are the ones who need to get your own rooms." She said. 

"Danni," Carla giggled. "Don't be mean, they're just joking." 

"So am I, Carla." Danni said, pecking her girlfriend on the lips. "You go back to your friends, I got things to do." She said, going over to their table and opening her laptop. 

Carla walked back in and flopped back onto the couch. "Anyways, I thought you had a thing for Sonny?" She asked Pete curiously. 

Pete ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "It ah…it wouldn't work either." Pete said. "Sonny's…he deserves better ya know? I just can't drag him down." He sighed, looking down. "And don't tell me that I wouldn't." Pete added quickly. "I know you guys think better of me than I do, it doesn't change anything." The other girls sat in frustrated silence. "Why don't we talk about anything else?" Pete suggested. "Vanessa, how's Nina?" 

* * *

Sonny's phone buzzed in his pocket, he pulled it out and saw that it was Happy. Sonny excused himself from the bodega and walked out into the alley. "Hey Happy, what's up?" He greeted. 

"Oh I'm great, how're you kid?" Tony Stark said, attempting to mimic Happy's voice. 

"Oh uh, hey Mr. Stark." Sonny greeted, his face flushing slightly with embarrassment. 

"Sonny, how are you, I'm serious about your wellbeing." Stark said. 

"I'm fine, sir." Sonny said, just wanting to get to what the phone call was really about. "Although you can't be just checking in on me." 

"Fine you got me." Stark said with a defeated sigh. "How's that cousin of yours? Still single?" He asked jokingly. 

Sonny groaned. "He's fine, Mr. Stark. Is there a reason for this call? Cause I'm working." He frowned, looking down impatiently. 

"Working like Spider-Man stuff?" Stark inquired. 

"No like bodega stuff." Jackass. Sonny mentally added the insult to the end of his sentence. 

"Oh! Right, right." Stark said. "Well I was just calling to give you some info. Happy said one of the last times you spoke with him you described a robber in a black suit a bit bulkier than yours. 

"Yeah, I did." Sonny nodded, listening intently. 

"We're not sure, but that description fits a newer small scale criminal that we call the prowler." Stark said. 

"The prowler? That's a cool name. Why don't we get cool names?" Sonny asked. 

"Makes it easier for the regular people." Stark said. "Anyways, we're not positive. The prowler's only done a couple of small bank robberies though we think he might scale it up soon. Just make sure you keep an eye out for him, kid." 

"Alright, thanks Mr. Stark." Sonny nodded. 

"Also Sonny, if you ever need anything-" 

"Yeah, I know, thanks Mr. Stark." Sonny cut off the man before hanging up. The man just wanted to be helpful, but sometimes it was just kind of frustrating and condescending. That was just something Sonny had gotten used to with being Spider-Man and being in touch with the man who lived in an entirely different reality.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I be writing other fics? Yes! Instead am I working on this self indulgent shit? Yes again! In this AU am I saying that Tony Stark is a bisexual with an interest in Usnavi? Three times in a row! Will that go anywhere? Nope, Usnavi and Stark are incompatible!  
> Hope you enjoy!

Sonny cleared his throat, looking down at the drink in his hand. "So uh…" He didn't know what to say. 

"So…" Pete responded, avoiding Sonny's gaze as much as Sonny was avoiding his. Pete finally stood, and offered his hand to Sonny. "You wanna see the latest painting I've been workin' on?" He offered, awkwardly. 

"Yeah, yeah, definitely." Sonny nodded. He accepted Pete's help getting up. He held onto Pete's hand for a little too long, before he quickly pulled his hand away, hoping Pete wouldn't notice. Pete noticed. They walked along in awkward silence, both wanting to say something, but not knowing what they could say. They came upon the alley where Sonny, or rather Spider-Man had spoken to Pete the previous week. Sonny had seen the mural, his likeness spread out across the wall. 

"So?" Pete asked, sticking his hands in his pockets. "What do you think?" 

"It's…amazing." Sonny said. A million other thoughts were racing through his mind. 'It's me.' And 'You're amazing,' to name a few. Maybe that was what was making things awkward. Sonny had a big ass secret that affected almost every aspect of his life and he couldn't tell his best friend anything about it. 

"You know, Spider-Man himself saw it too. He said he liked it." Pete nodded, gazing up at his masterpiece. "He seems like…like a great guy." 

Sonny felt a twinge of jealousy within him. He then realized how utterly ridiculous it was for him to be jealous of himself. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down. "Uh yeah, I guess…" Sonny shrugged. "I mean, but there's only so much help that a super hero type can do." 

"That Iron Man could probably do a lot more than he's doing." Pete said thoughtfully. 

"Tell me about it." Sonny sighed. That was opening a whole can of worms that he had already spent too much time thinking about. "I mean like I gotta appreciate the guy," Sonny shrugged. "He's given me this internship and he's talked about me getting a full ride to his school, but I just don't know. Like he does good things but there's more that he could be doing. And also he does some bad things too. He kinda hurts a lot of local businesses and stuff and I don't know if he even cares." Sonny realized he had been sort of ranting and he immediately looked down and shut his mouth. "At least uh…that's some of what I've been thinking." 

Pete smiled to himself, looking away so Sonny wouldn't see. "You know, that's one of the things I love about you, Sunshine." He said, moving to lean against the wall. 

"Uh…what do you mean?" Sonny asked, adjusting his hat in an attempt of hiding the blush that started spreading across his cheeks at the word 'love.' 

"You care so much." Pete said with a smile, a smile that didn't seem entirely full, like something was missing. "You got so much good in you. Fuck all these heroes, Sunshine, I trust you." He said, looking over and Sonny to gauge his reaction. 

Sonny felt his heart beat a mile a minute. He looked down, face beet red. He kicked a stone, awkwardly. "I don't really know what to say to that, Pete." Sonny admitted. He took a couple of steps closer to Pete. "I trust you too, more than practically anyone." He wrestled himself over whether or not he could reach out and hold Pete's hand. Although before he could really get up the courage to make the leap his phone vibrated and Sonny pulled it out of his pocket. It was Happy. "I uh…really have to take this." He jogged to the entrance of the alley way and answered the call. "Hello?" He said awkwardly.

"Ah Sonny! Exactly the guy I wanted to talk to." Said the always enthusiastic voice of Tony Stark. "How ya been kid? I feel like we don't talk enough." He said. 

"Um…Mr. Stark I appreciate it, but I'm kinda busy right now." Sonny said, looking down and hoping that Pete wasn't listening in. 

"Oh tell me about it." Stark said with an audible eyeroll. "Thing is, your cousin sent me a message saying that he's worried about you." 

"What? When did Usnavi get your number?" Sonny asked pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"Unimportant. Listen kid, I'm just checking in on you. Making sure that you're not doing drugs or having unprotected sex with this Graffiti Paul-" 

"So that's what this is about!" Sonny huffed. "Listen, Mr. Stark, thanks for your concern, but this is none of your business! It's bad enough that Usnavi's on my ass about it, I don't need you to be too. No matter how many times you pretend you care about me, I know the truth. I have seen this shit before. I don't need another deadbeat dad, thank you very much." Sonny hissed, ending the call just as he heard Stark start to respond. 

Sonny took a deep breath before walking back over to Pete. "Sorry about that." 

"It's no problem." Pete said, taking a swig from his water bottle. "You seemed to be getting pretty heated over there. Is everything alright?" 

"Oh uh yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Sonny nodded, looking away. 

"Alright…" Pete said, sounding unconvinced. "Well I mean, Sonny if there's anything you ever wanna talk about you know you can tell me, right?" He offered awkwardly. 

"Thanks, Pete." Sonny smiled. "Actually there kind of is something I've been meaning to tell you…" Sonny took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself to tell Pete a secret. Actually two secrets. Two huge secrets. That he was Spider-Man and that he was in love with him. 

While Sonny was psyching himself up, Pete looked at his phone. "Shit!" He sighed. "Sorry Sunshine, but I gotta head. I gotta get to work." He said, starting towards the opening of the alley. "I'll see you later though, alright?" He offered, turning back and smiling at Sonny. 

Sonny tried not to look as deflated as he felt. "Uh, yeah, of course." He nodded. It was probably for the best that he didn't infodump all of his secrets onto Pete. He didn't need that right now.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of stuff goes down in this chap! Yeah, hope you like it!

Sonny hummed to himself, gazing at the barely visible stars from the roof of his building. He was still in his spider gear, not quite ready to return to monotony and normality after an admittedly boring shift. He started to wonder when he would next have something interesting happen when his question was preemptively answered, but something almost out of sight. Sonny jumped to his feet, seeing someone breaking into a bank a few streets over. He pulled his mask on and jumped, starting to swing from building to building with as much ease and grace as he could muster. 

He turned on the voice modifier, landing down on the street in front of the bank and stretching slightly to prepare himself for the fight. It had been a while since he actually fought someone. And this might be that prowler guy that Mr. Stark had been talking about. He opened the door that the man had snuck through and stopped, crossing his arms over his chest to try and make an impression. "Excuse me, sir, but the bank is closed." The line sounded much cooler in his head. Out loud it just sounded like a kid pretending to be a superhero. 

The man in the suit froze. He had been taking money from a machine, but he stopped and slowly looked over his shoulder at Sonny. He turned back to the machine, still not uttering a single word. 

"Excuse me." Sonny said, a bit frustrated that the man barely even acknowledged him. "You can't take this money. I have to stop you." He said, walking closer to the man. "But if you give me the money now, I'll let you off the hook." He tried to bargain, although he knew he shouldn't have. 

The man rose to his feet, grabbing the bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He didn't seem to be much taller than Sonny, but he was still intimidating. Sonny prepared himself for the man to attack, but he didn't. He jumped to the ceiling, starting to crawl to avoid getting in Sonny's way. 

"Hey! I was talking to you!" Sonny exclaimed, shooting a web around the man's foot and pulling himself towards him. "As I was saying, that's not yours and you need to put it back." He demanded, following the man, along the ceiling and outside to the wall. 

The man didn't pay attention, he stood like he was on normal ground and started running across the building walls as if he never left solid ground. Sonny followed by swinging from building to building to keep up. "So are you the prowler?" He asked the silent man. "They call me Spider-Man." He nodded. "I'm gonna admit, yours is cooler!" Sonny shot out one of his webs, which hit the prowler's arm, forcing him to drop the bag. Sonny dropped down and grabbed the bag, swinging it over his shoulder and starting back towards the bank. To his surprise, the man let him go. He didn't pursue him. That almost worried Sonny more than if he had pursued.

Sonny returned the money to the bank and started back towards home. He wondered what was up with the prowler. He didn't respond to anything Sonny said or did. He just didn't seem to care. There was something strange about the encounter, something that just didn't sit right with him, but as he swung onto his fire escape, there was nothing he could really do about that right then. Sonny struggled out of his suit and pulled on his pajamas, going to get a snack and say good night to Usnavi before he fell asleep. Oddly enough though, he heard someone else's voice in combination with his cousin's. "Oh god…" 

"Sonny, there he is." Tony Stark said, standing from the couch and going over to clap a hand on Sonny's shoulder. 

"Hey Mr. Stark." Sonny looked down, holding back a groan. 

"Sonny, where have you been?" Usnavi demanded. 

"Chillax, I was just hanging out on the roof, trying to see some stars." Sonny rolled his eyes. 

"Sonny, what your cousin and I mean to say is that we're worried about you." Stark said, looking down at Sonny with exaggerated concern in his eyes. 

"Is this still about Pete?" Sonny demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. "He's not a bad guy! I don't know why you're always on my case about him!" 

"He's no good, Sonny!" Usnavi exclaimed. 

"He paints some murals, he does a bit of weed, so? He's not hurting anybody! He's not destroying someone's life! He's not a bad guy!" Sonny exclaimed. "And you, Mr. Stark," he turned to the other man. "I appreciate the concern, and I'd apologize about the deadbeat dad comment, but I really don't need you to be involved in this part of my life. Thank you for trying, but I don't need you right now." 

"Sonny, why don't we go talk alone." Tony sighed, following Sonny to the fire escape. "Listen, I get it. All that teen angst and super powers? It's gotta be tough, but I chose you because I knew you could handle it. I care about you, and I'm not trying to police your life. It's your cousin who's really worried and I understand why. It's a dangerous world out here." Tony sighed, looking down. "Speaking of danger…where were you really?" 

"I saw the prowler stealing from a bank so I went after him." Sonny shrugged, before giving Stark a brief explanation of what had happened in his encounter. "He just didn't seem to care. I felt like he didn't want to hurt me."

Stark nodded thoughtfully. "Well hopefully he stays that way. I still want you to keep an eye out for him. I got a bad feeling about him." 

"Like you have a bad feeling about Pete?" Sonny scoffed, crossing his arms. 

"Listen kid, I don't care. You're legal, go do whatever the fuck you want. Just keep in mind that your cousin is terrified that one day you're gonna leave and not come home." Tony said. 

Sonny looked down, pretending that the words hadn't gotten to him. "Yeah…okay." He nodded.

"Good." Tony nodded. "I'll see you later, kid." He started back into the appartment. "And please, take it easy on your cousin."

"Yeah…okay." Sonny sighed, following Stark back into the building. After he left he turned to Usnavi. "Usnavi…I know you're worried, but I need you not to be. I need you to trust me to make good decisions." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I know that you don't like Pete, but I do and I know you're not happy about that, but he's my friend." 

"Sonny, you know why I'm worried." Usnavi sighed. 

"Yeah, I know." Sonny said. "But you shouldn't be. And I have a…secret that might help keep you from worrying too much about that." He took a deep breath. "I'm Spider-Man."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another new chap! But yeah if u like it feel free to leave a comment, I really love this fic and it would be nice to know that I'm not the only one lol

"No me diga." Usnavi said deadpan. "Sonny, you've given me a lot of bullshit excuses, but this one takes the cake." He shook his head. 

"No! I'm serious." Sonny insisted. "Why do you think I know Mr. Stark? Why do you think he was here?" 

"You have an internship." Usnavi said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I've seen the papers." 

"I can prove it." Sonny said. "Wait right here." He held out his hand before running back to his room. 

"I'm not calling you an ambulance if you just jump off the fire escape." Usnavi said sarcastically, leaning against the wall as he was waiting for Sonny. 

"Ha ha, very funny." Sonny called back, rolling his eyes. He slipped the suit on, and reached up to get a hold of the ceiling. He pulled himself up so he was crawling on the ceiling. And this way he crawled through the apartment, before coming to a stop right above Usnavi, who had distracted himself with his phone. "Boo." Sonny said from the ceiling. 

"Holy mother of-" Usnavi shouted, grasping the wall behind him like it was a lifeline. "You get off of the damn ceiling!" He hissed. "Were you raised in a barn?" He demanded, before quickly turning and pacing around the apartment, muttering a series of curses in different languages. 

"Do you believe me now?" Sonny asked, feeling somewhat triumphant at his cousin's reaction. 

"You're going to send me into an early grave." Usnavi said, falling onto the couch and putting his head in his hands. 

Sonny sat beside him. "Telling you this was supposed to make you trust me more." 

"Well it just makes me more nervous." Usnavi said, taking off his hat and tossing it onto the table. "So…this has been going on since the start of your internship." 

"Yeah…" Sonny nodded, looking down. 

"Of course." Usnavi sighed. "I'm worried about your safety and so to make me feel better, you reveal that you've been risking your life daily." 

"Usnavi…I-" 

"You're grounded forever." Usnavi said, pulling Sonny into his chest in a lung crushing hug. "I'm never fucking letting you out of my sight again." 

"Usnavi- please." Sonny broke away slightly so he could breathe. "Mr. Stark wouldn't let me get banged up too bad. He's already stopped me from getting into super dangerous situations." Sonny said. 

"I've already lost too many people because of things I couldn't control." Usnavi said. "I can control this." 

"Usnavi…" Sonny sighed, finally hugging his cousin back. "I love you, but I'm not stopping. I've lost people too, and if I can stop other people from getting hurt then I'm going to try my best. I'll let you know where I am and what I'm doing at all times, but I'm going to keep doing it." He said, pulling away. 

Usnavi sighed, looking at Sonny and shaking his head. "Why do you have to be this way? You want to help out and I love that, but I just feel so powerless." 

"Maybe we are powerless, but if I can do something then I will." Sonny said.

"You're a good kid, Sonny." Usnavi said with a sigh, patting his cousin on the back. "I'm proud of you." 

"That means a lot." Sonny smiled sheepishly at Usnavi. "Thanks." 

"Does anybody else know about this?" Usnavi asked Sonny after a moment. 

"Daniela." Sonny said with a certain nod. "But you can't keep anything from her. I don't even know how she found out it was just like three days after I got the suit she cornered me. It's absolutely insane." 

Usnavi shook his head fondly. "I don't know how she does it." 

* * *

"Hello?" Nina called, opening the door to her favorite bodega. She looked around seeing Usnavi and Sonny both hard at work.

"Nina, you're back." Usnavi smiled, before turning to get her coffee order. 

"Nina!" Sonny exclaimed, running across the room and hugging her tightly. He picked her up and spun her around as she laughed with surprise. 

"Sonny! You're getting stronger." She smiled as he put her down. "Your birthday is coming up soon isn't it?" 

"Not too long after the fourth." Sonny nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets and smiling. 

"How old are you turning again? Thirteen?" Nina asked, ruffling his hair teasingly. 

"Excuse you." Sonny stuck how tongue out. "I'm becoming a real adult. I'll be able to vote." He said proudly. 

"God help us all." Usnavi muttered, handing Nina her coffee. 

She nodded her thanks to Usnavi. "I'll see you both at Danni and Carla's party, right?" Every year on the Fourth of July Daniela and Carla threw a party, beginning with a small ceremony for Abuela Claudia and ending with most people needing help to get home. 

"Of course." Usnavi nodded. 

"Heck yes." Sonny nodded. "Save me a dance?" He asked Nina. 

"I'll ask Benny and Vanessa." She smiled. Benny had her booked for most dances, although Vanessa always managed to sneak a couple in. She waved as she left the store, leaving the boys to go back to work. 

The rest of the day went by without much incidence, the regulars came and left, Danni and Carla came through with a grocery list that was so long it hit the floor. They left with their arms filled to the brim to the point where Sonny went with them to take the stuff to their apartment. 

"So Sonny, have you seen Pete lately?" Carla asked, curiously. 

"Uh, yeah. We hung out the other day, why?" Sonny asked, shifting the bags he was carrying. 

"Oh no real reason, I was just a little curious." Carla shrugged. 

"She wants to probe into other people's personal lives." Danni said, looking back at the pair. 

"You're one to talk, Danni!" Carla exclaimed with a pout. 

"I know that I'm a gossip and a know-it-all, you like to pretend that you're not." She smiled. 

"Anyways, Sonny, Pete?" Carla asked again. 

"Not much to tell." Sonny shrugged. "We hung out some, he showed me his latest piece, Usnavi got pissed cause I was hanging out with him, the usual." 

Carla rolled his eyes. "Usnavi needs to chill out some. Maybe hanging with Vanessa at the party will help." 

"Carla, honey, stop interefering in other people's love lives." Danni said.


	8. Chapter 8

Sonny liked parties just fine. Barrio parties were always pretty fun. It was like a family reunion, but with less actual family members and lots of dancing. Usually Sonny was able to grab a drink or two, but he wasn't really feeling it tonight. And as much fun as it was watching his friends and family drunk off their asses, he wished that their was someone closer to his age there.

Pete was running late, it was probably because of something with his mom. Sonny knew it was kind of selfish, but he wished that Pete was at the party. He sighed, walking out onto the fire escape. He rested against the railing, looking out at the city celebrating the fourth. The city that never slept was rarely more lively than on the holidays. A firework exploded overhead and Sonny watched with a smile. 

Pete walked up behind Sonny. "What's up Sunshine?" Pete smiled, leaning against the railing beside Sonny. 

Sonny looked over, a wide smile coming across his face. "Pete! You made it." 

"Wouldn't miss hanging out with my favorite guy." Pete grinned. 

"Was it something with your mom? How's she doing?" Sonny asked. 

"I was working." Pete looked down, rubbing his neck. "She's fine, when she's not working she's sleeping, but we're making ends meet." He shrugged. "But I'm not here to talk about my problems, I'm here to have fun and hang out with you." He smiled. 

Sonny felt butterflies rear up in his stomach and he bit his lip, looking down to keep himself from smiling like an idiot. "Well right now I'm just watching some of the fireworks if you wanna stay out here with me." 

"Of course." Pete smiled, moving a little closer to Sonny and looking upward at the sparks. "Isn't your birthday coming up?" He piped up after a moment spent in silence, staring at the show in awe. 

"Yeah, just about a week." Sonny nodded. 

"You doing anything special?" Pete asked curiously. 

"Nothing planned." Sonny responded with a shrug. "Got any ideas for me?" He asked with a smile. 

"Well, you're eighteen." Pete said thoughtfully. "We could get cigarettes or lottery tickets." 

Sonny made a face. "I hate the smell of cigarettes, couldn't do it. And what would be the odds of me winning the lotto after Abuela?" 

"Tattoos?" Pete suggested with a shrug. 

"That'd be fun, but I don't have any idea what I'd get." Sonny said. "Somethin on my arm, but I'm not sure." He pointed to his upper arm. 

"Hmm…" Pete said. "Let me look at the canvas." He took Sonny's arm, looking at the skin. "I could draw you up a design if you'd like. Anything specific?" 

"Maybe something relating to Abuela or Usnavi?" He shrugged. "I'll leave the creative shit up to you." He looked away. "Don't get your hopes up though, I don't think 'Navi likes tattoos much." 

"Oh c'mon I've got tattoos…actually maybe that's why he doesn't like me that much." Pete joked. 

"Usnavi likes you." Sonny insisted. "He just…thinks some things that I know aren't true. About both of us." Sonny added with a shrug. "There are just things that he doesn't understand." 

"Well I'm glad I've got you to stick up for me." Pete smiled. "You've always seen the best in me." 

Sonny smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "You're a good guy, Pete." 

"Yeah…" Pete trailed off, not saying something, despite the fact that he clearly wanted to. "Hey Sonny, I feel like dancing. You comin' with?" He pushed off the railing and nodded back towards the apartment. 

Sonny's face reddened slightly at the prospect of dancing with Pete, but he swallowed his fear and nodded, following him back into Danni and Carla's apartment. 

It was starting to get late and the numbers at the party were starting to dwindle slightly, not enough that it made much of a difference in that crowded area that constituted as a dance floor. Mr and Mrs Rosario had already left, although Nina was still on the dance floor, wrapped up in Benny's arms and moving slowly to an upbeat song. Vanessa and Usnavi were dancing and joking along together. Danni and Carla were dancing through the crowd, occassionally bumping into people, but not minding too much. Various other couples danced or chatted on the sidelines. 

Pete looked over at Sonny and bowed dramatically. "Sonny, may I have this dance?" He asked, looking up at Sonny with a twinkle in his eyes. 

Sonny felt like his insides were all twisted up. He felt so awkward and nervous despite his knowledge that this wasn't romantic. Pete was just being friendly and trying to have a fun time. Sonny nodded, bowing too. "It'd be my pleasure." 

Pete grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor, his hips already swaying to the music. Sonny tried not to pay attention to it, though he found Pete's movements somewhat hypnotizing. Then Pete stopped on the dance floor and started doing the robot and the chicken dance, and Sonny was no longer really mesmerized. Instead he was laughing and smiling and dancing with his best friend. And not for the first time that night Sonny thought about how amazing Pete was and how lucky he was to have him. He thought about how much he loved being around Pete and he wished that he had more chances too. 

They danced the rest of the night through, and later Pete helped Sonny get Usnavi home, cracking jokes along the way. "Thank you for tonight, Pete." Sonny smiled. "I had a lot of fun with you." 

"I had fun too." Pete nodded. "I'll see you later, okay?" 

"Yeah, I'll see you later." Sonny nodded back, closing the door as Pete left. He turned to Usnavi and saw the man had already made it to his room. He took his hat off and checked his phone, scrolling through the notifications. He smiled, seeing a message from Happy. It was a simple text message that read, "Happy Fourth, kid, you've been doing good."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk when the next time I'll be able to update a fic will be. I'm goin back to school tomorrow so…yeah. Anyways leave comments and kudos if you like it, thanks!

There had been a robbery on the fourth. And not just any robbery, a robbery by the prowler. Sonny felt like it was his fault. He hadn't been paying enough attention. For the week leading up to his birthday he watched the city vigilantly, waiting for the prowler to strike again. But he didn't. Sonny stayed out late into the night waiting for him, but there was nothing. 

Finally it was his birthday and all Sonny wanted to do was sleep. He was absolutely exhausted, even after taking a nap, but there was a party and people with cake waiting for him, so he couldn't be too tired. He yawned, pulling on a tank top and walking into the living room of the apartment, where there were balloons and decorations and the people he loved. Usnavi put candles on the cake while Vanessa and Nina talked Benny's ear off. Daniela and Carla were off to the side, sipping on drinks and talking to Pete and the Rosarios. 

Pete was the first to notice Sonny. He grinned, running over to pick him up in a bear hug. "Happy birthday, sleepin' beauty." He said, putting Sonny down. 

"That's a way to wake me up." Sonny mumbled, stumbling slightly. 

"Sonny, come on, we're going to sing and then we'll do gifts." Usnavi called, shooting a quick glare at Pete. 

"Alright, alright." Sonny grumbled, going over to stand by the cake. They all sang and Sonny thought for a moment about what to wish for. He blew out the candles, wishing to catch the prowler. 

"What'd you wish for Sonny?" Pete asked with a smile. 

"Can't tell you, or else it won't come true." Sonny answered quickly. 

Pete rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, whatever. Listen I got you a great present, ready?" He grabbed an envelope off of the counter.

"Alright…" Sonny said uncertainly, taking the envelope and opening it. There was a typical hallmark card inside, but when he opened it up there was a piece of paper with a silhouette of a bird with Claudia inscribed inside of it. Sonny looked at Pete questioningly. 

"You asked me to design you a tattoo to represent Abuela Claudia…so there you go." He nodded, suddenly looking sheepish. "So uh…what do you think?" 

Sonny quickly wrapped his arms around Pete's neck, pulling him down into a hug. "It's perfect." He mumbled into Pete's shoulder. 

Pete smiled to himself, returning Sonny's embrace. The pair stood there, in peace for a while until Usnavi cleared his throat, which made the pair jump apart like they had been shocked. Usnavi shot a glare at Pete before turning to Sonny. "And who told you you could get a tattoo?" 

"Technically I am now an adult that can get it by myself." Sonny answered, his face was burning scarlet from the hug. "But I understand that you're not a fan, so if you want me to wait, I can." He said. "Also, look at the design." He offered the paper to Usnavi, looking down. 

After looking over the design for a moment, Usnavi sighed. "It's a really good design, Pete." He admitted. "But I think we're going to wait just a bit before we commit to anything, alright?" He said looking to Sonny. Sonny nodded, excited that Usnavi was even considering it. 

"Now, the rest of us have some presents for you." Usnavi said, putting a box on the counter in front of Sonny. 

Sonny got new clothes from Usnavi and the Rosarios. Nina gave him a list of tips and tricks for college. Benny gave him a coupon for a free taxi ride. Danni, Carla, and Vanessa all gave him money. Danni had also written him a heartfelt note about how proud she was of him, both as Spider-Man and as just plain old Sonny. All in all it was a pretty good haul, and it was a nice party. 

Soon everyone left and it was just Sonny and Usnavi again, cleaning up the apartment. Usnavi sighed, looking around. "You know, there's one more present." He walked into his room, returning with an envelope. "Mr. Stark left this the last time he was here." 

"Oh yeah?" Sonny said, opening the letter with a curious look. Inside was another plain hallmark card, with several twenties inside, amounting up to about a thousand dollars. 

There was also a little piece of paper labeled, "Turning off training mode." Sonny opened up the paper and saw a handwritten note. "Sonny, your suit has capabilities that you don't quite understand. This note has the instructions to turn off training mode so you can begin learning how to get the most out of all of your powers. Each setting has a brief tutorial that Claudia will explain. You're an adult, and I trust you. Also I really do care about you kid." It was signed Tony Stark. 

The note was nice. Sonny still had mixed feelings about Stark. Feelings that would likely only be fully resolved with hour long conversations and probably some sort of mediator. He still sent a quick thank you text to Stark, before he excused himself to his room to start learning what this training mode was. 

Sonny was absolutely amazed at all the things his suit could do. There were so many different settings that he couldn't have even imagined. More ways to swing webs and take down enemies than ever before! Although the thought and knowledge that there was a lethal mode made Sonny extremely uncomfortable. Even if he was fighting a really bad person, he couldn't imagine ever resorting to killing. He'd leave the murder to the other heroes that didn't care. 

But now Sonny was itching to go out and try new things. He climbed out onto the fire escape and swung from building to building, looking for some crime, or at least an empty alley to practice his new powers on.


	10. Chapter 10

Sonny couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't believe his luck. His second night out as Spider-Man without training mode and there he was. The prowler, sneaking along the side of a building, breaking into a bank with some level of stealth. Had Sonny been the average onlooker or policeman, he probably wouldn't have even noticed him. But luckily for him, and the city of New York, he wasn't your average guy, he was Spider-Man, and he was ready to start kicking ass without any filters. 

He followed behind the prowler, making sure that the other man didn't see him following. Sonny crawled into the bank and walked on the ceiling as the prowler walked on the floor. The robber kneeled by an ATM and started working to get money from it. Sonny watched for a moment before he started dropping himself to the floor behind the prowler. He snuck up to the man and tapped on his shoulder to get his attention. He then punched him in the jaw. The prowler took several steps backwards, holding his face and looking at Sonny.

"That doesn't belong to you." Sonny said seriously, trying to act as intimidating as possible, despite the fact that his hand hurt. 

The prowler seemed to heave a deep sigh, as he sprinted the remaining feet between him and Sonny and knocked him to the ground. He returned to gather more money, as Sonny shakily rose to his feet. "That how you wanna do it?" Sonny asked, shaking his head and regaining his composure. "Fine." He searched through the different settings on his suit, but the robber started moving. Sonny settled on one and shot it. It was an odd sort of boomerang web that went forward then returned, completely missing the prowler. 

He went back through the different settings, as the robber threw the bag over his shoulder and started towards the door. Sonny panicked and shot a web, not caring what setting it was on. It shot out a web that solidified into a sharp projectile that cut through the prowler's suit, forcing him to drop the bag. He cursed, grabbing his shoulder that had started to bleed. The voice sounded so familiar, but Sonny couldn't put his finger on it.

Sonny had never done anything like that before. His eyes widened in surprise, looking from his hands to the prowler. He steadied himself and looked down at the prowler. "Get out of here." He said, the voice modifier making him sound like he was growling. 

The prowler let go of his arm and started running out of the bank. Sonny watched him disappear down the street before he cleaned up the bank. While he was cleaning up, Sonny noticed something in the settings on his suit. His suit was in lethal mode. He could have killed him. The thought sent a chill down his spine. He quickly changed the setting to nonlethal mode, but the thought was still prevalent in his mind. As he made the trek home, he thought more and more about the cut and the prowler's curses.

The prowler wasn't a good person. But did that give Sonny any right to hurt him? What if he wasn't a bad person, but someone that had no choice? There were a million situations where someone could be forced to steal to survive. He probably had a family. Someone to take care of. The thought made Sonny nauseous. 

He sighed, arriving in his room and pulling his mask off in frustration. He groaned, laying face down on his bed as he cursed his conscience. 

His door creaked open as Usnavi appeared, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. "And where exactly have you been?" 

"Aw cut it out 'Navi. I was stopping a bank robbery." Sonny said, his voice muffled by the mattress. 

"That sounds fun, why are you so sad?" Usnavi asked, moving to sit on the edge of Sonny's bed. 

"How do I know if I'm doin' the right thing?" Sonny asked. "Sure there are a lot of bad people out there, but what if some of them are good people in bad circumstances?" 

"Well…" Usnavi didn't know how to answer this. He was never really prepared to help raise a teenage boy. He had less than ten years on Sonny, but he looked up to him for help with these complex moral issues. Usnavi couldn't imagine what the stress on Sonny was. "I think sometimes you just have to trust that what you're doing is right. A bad situation doesn't mean you have to break the law." He said with a shrug. 

"I guess…" Sonny said, not sounding thoroughly convinced. 

"I could call Mr. Stark if you think he could be of any help." Usnavi offered with a shrug. 

"Ugh, no thanks." Sonny said. 

"Why don't you like him? He's done a lot for you." Usnavi said. 

"I just feel like he's not doing enough for the community." Sonny shrugged. 

"He's Iron Man." Usnavi said. 

"Yes, but how much does he give to charity every year? And which charities? What's he planning on doing with that abandoned Avenger's building? What sort of people does he employ?" Sonny listed off his questions. 

Usnavi shrugged. "You should ask him." 

"I guess I could, but I don't know if he'd take me seriously." Sonny said with a shrug. 

"He takes you seriously enough as the barrio's spider boy." Usnavi reminded him with a shrug. 

"That's true…" Sonny said thoughtfully. "I guess I could mention it to Mr. Stark at least…"


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! It's been a minute. School's back up and I'm in my senior year so I've got a lot of shit goin on. However I'm not abandoning this fic, or any of my others. Hope you enjoy it!

Sonny sat at the counter of the bodega, doing some homework while Usnavi worked beside him. He hummed to himself, kicking his feet back and forth as he worked on a tricky math problem. He let out a sigh, looking out the window to see if the answer was out there. The answer to his math problem wasn't there, but Pete was. Sonny pushed himself off of the stool he was sitting on and started walking around the counter. 

"Yo…'Navi, I'm gonn take a quick break and then I'll be right back." He said, jogging to the front door before Usnavi could get out anything that forbade him from leaving. 

"Pete!" Sonny exclaimed, jogging to catch up with his friend. "Hey! Its been a while." He smiled. 

"Yeah." Pete nodded, sticking his hands in his hoodie and looking down. 

"Where are you going?" Sonny asked, curiously. "And whats with the hoodie?" Even though it was starting to cool off with the end of August, it was still hot as hell outside. "Aren't you hot?" 

"I'm gonna go work on a piece. And…I'd like to think so." Pete said with a wink. 

Sonny's face reddened slightly. "Come on Pete!" He nudged him im the ribs. "You know that's not what I mean. I mean…aren't you warm." 

Pete shrugged. "A little. I'll take it off in the alley. I don't need a bunch of people looking at me all weird." He said nonchalantly, despite the fact that his heart was racing from his nerves.

"Oh, okay." Sonny shrugged, following Pete into the alley. "So what've you been working on?" He asked curiously, sitting down on a box in the alley. 

"The usual." Pete responded, pulling his hoodie over his head. Sonny finally understood why Pete had been wearing it. His shoulder was poorly wrapped in bandages. "Portraits and stuff." He looked over at Sonny, tossing him his sweatshirt. 

Sonny didn't manage to really catch it, the hoodie hitting his face as the gears in his head turned. "Pete…what the hell happened?" He asked, his voice soft as his eyes stared into the bandages, fearing the worst. 

Pete stiffened. "It was nothing." He said defensively. "I just got in a little fight is all." He excused himself, not meeting Sonny's gaze. 

"Where did it happen? Who were you fighting?" Sonny asked, terrified of the answer he might receive. 

"I don't wanna talk about it, Sonny." Pete said quickly, avoiding Sonny's piercing gaze. 

"At least tell me how it happened. And why?" Sonny pleaded. 

"It's none of your business!" Pete exclaimed, his voice close to a shout. 

Sonny flinched slightly, standing and putting Pete's hoodie on the box. "I can't help that I'm worried about you." He defended himself. 

"Bullshit!" Pete huffed. "Ever since you got tht big Stark internship you haven't given two shits about me or the barrio! And now you're even talking about going to some big fancy college out of town just cause you can get a scholarship!" 

Sonny was hurt. "How can you think I don't care for you or the barrio? Everything I'm doing, I'm doing to try and help! I'm doing everything I can to try and help you and you just ignore me!" Sonny exclaimed. Pete now seemed to be ignoring him, seemingly focused on choosing a paint color. "You know, maybe Usnavi's right." Sonny mumbled, just loud enough for Pete to hear. "Maybe you are just taking advantage of me." Pete stiffened, but otherwise he didn't react to the accusation. 

Sonny started walking back to the bodega, his mind racing with the possibility that he had done that to Pete. Where his bandages were was exactly where Sonny had hit the prowler. Sonny tried to take a deep breath, convince himself that he was being paranoid. But Pete's reaction had him suspicious and Sonny had to know. Upon arriving at the bodega, Sonny excused himself to go to his room to do homework. 

He paced around his room, telling himself that he was being ridiculous, but in the end there was only one way for him to know for sure. Sonny pulled out his phone and pulled up Claudia. "Claudia, I need you to compare the voice of the prowler to the voice of Pete." He requested. Normally he didn't like Claudia recording his conversations, but at a moment like this he was pretty glad that she did. 

"One moment." Claudia said, the phone scanning through its memories. "I have one recording of the prowler, so it is not the best data, but the voices are a ninety two percent match, give a few points of error." 

"Fuck." Sonny mumbled, running his hands through his hair. "Fuck!" He exclaimed, pacing around his room. "Fuck!" He exclaimed again, punching his bed frame and immediately regretting it. A jolt of pain rushed through his arm. He groaned and fell back onto his bed. He grabbed his pillow, covering his face and letting out a muffled shout. 

Pete was a villain. Usnavi was right. Pete was the prowler. And what was probably the worst part, Sonny had hurt him. Sonny had hurt his best friend. God, he could have killed him. Why was he doing this? Sonny couldn't even be upset with him, he was just worried. What drove him to this? Pete wasn't a bad person. At least Sonny didn't think he was. Maybe Sonny didn't know him at all. 

Did Pete know that Sonny was Spider Man? No, he couldn't have. Otherwise he would've done something. But Pete liked and respected Spider Man, no way would he have been fighting him if he had any choice. Sonny decided that he knew what he had to do. He couldn't let Pete know that he knew. He couldn't let anyone know. He had to find a way to help Pete without Pete figuring him out or anything. 

The best way to start helping Pete was an apology. Sonny opened up his messages and wrote, "Hey Pete, I'm sorry about earlier. I really am worried about you. When you wanna talk, we can talk. No judgement." 

After several minutes of agonizing waiting, Sonny got a response. "Thanks, I'm sorry for getting all upset. I'll let you know when I'm ready." And Sonny let out a sigh of relief. Despite the mess that he found himself in, at least Pete was still his friend.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the longest chap, but it's not bad. Hope you like it regardless and if you do, you know what to do

Sonny sighed, walking down the street. He kicked at a rock, feeling utterly dejected. He had no choice, nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to. He opened the door, a bell alerting the room to his entrance. 

The salon was empty, Danni and Carla were beginning to clean up, occasionally pausing to kiss the other or toss out an affectionate pet name. Sonny would usually smile at the sweet encounter, but today was not the day. 

"Danni…I need your help." He said with a sigh. 

She looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "What? Do you need a haircut?" 

"No!" Sonny huffed. He then paused. "Actually yeah, probably." 

Daniella sighed. "You're lucky you're family." She pinched Sonny's cheek. "Otherwise your ass would be on the street in a second." 

"Danni!" Carla scolded with a giggle. 

"It's closing time, babe." Daniella responded. 

Carla sighed, kissing her girlfriend's cheek. "I'll take care of closing and then head upstairs to make some dinner. You take care of Sonny." 

Danni pushed Sonny into a chair to shampoo his hair. "So," She began. "What's really bothering you?" Straight to the point and as astute as always. 

Sonny sighed, letting his eyes fall shut. "It's Pete." 

"I knew it!" Danni exclaimed triumphantly. "When's the date?" 

Sonny's face reddened. "I'm not- that's not it." He said quickly. 

Danni huffed, rolling her eyes. "Well that's boring. What is it then?" 

"Pete's a super villain! He's been robbing a bunch of banks and I hurt him. I hurt him really badly. And I don't know what to do." Sonny's voice got increasingly softer, by the end of his sentence he was almost whispering. 

"A super villain?" Danni asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yeah, he's called the prowler. I stopped him from robbing a bank the other night and we got in a fight, and I hit his shoulder. My suit was on lethal mode. I could've killed him." 

"But you didn't." Daniella offered as she turned off the water. She wrapped a towel around Sonny's head and led him over to a seat in front of a mirror. 

"But I could have!" Sonny exclaimed with a sigh. "Danni, what am I supposed to do?" He asked her pleadingly, as she walked around getting her things together. 

Daniella sighed, grabbing her scissors and looking at Sonny. "I don't know what to tell you, Sonny. You know I want to help you out, but this is above my knowledge. I don't know what you and Pete are like in those suits." She said, starting to cut Sonny's hair. "I barely have any idea why Pete is doing it." 

"Danni, why's he doing it? What's wrong? Is it something I can help with?" Sonny asked the questions, rapid fire, not giving her enough time between them to answer. 

Danni sighed. "It's his mother, after she got sick, money was tough, Pete was willing to do anything. Now he's found himself in debt. He's gotta pay off those loan sharks or else something's gonna go wrong."

"So Pete's not evil?" Sonny said, a hint of relief in his voice. 

"Of course not, dumb ass." Daniella scolded. "How could you doubt your boyfriend like that?" She shook her head, clucking her tongue. 

"He's not my boyfriend." Sonny insisted, face flushing. "And I odunno, I guess I just let Usnavi and Mr. Stark get in my head." 

"Mr. Stark? As in Tony Stark?" Daniella asked. "If I dated men, that'd be the kind of man I'd go for." She sighed. 

"Gross." Sonny said. 

"But so him and Usnavi?" 

"They've been trying to convince me that Pete's a bad influence." Sonny sighed. 

"Well, you're a good influence on him." Daniella said. "He's been working so hard, on his paintings, on his jobs, everything. And you're a big inspiration to him." 

Sonny scoffed. "Yeah, right." 

"I'm serious, Sonny." Danni said, inspecting her work. "He wants to be able to provide for you." 

"Cut the crap, Danni." Sonny groaned. 

"No crap." Danni insisted, finishing cutting Sonny's hair. "Pete genuinely really likes you." She said. "He'd like you a lot more if he didn't have that weird crush on Spider-Man, but wait…" 

Sonny couldn't stop the jealousy rising in his chest. He shook his head, face reddening. He shouldn't be jealous of himself. And Danni was joking on him. It wasn't even true. "So…Pete doesn't know who I am." 

"No one but me, Sonny." Danni promised. 

"And Usnavi." Sonny added. 

"You told that stick in the mud?" Danni scoffed. "How did that go?" 

"It went great." Sonny lied. "Well it went alright." He corrected himself. "Well it wasn't awful." He finally conceded. 

"I'm surprised he lets you leave the house." Danni said. 

"Honestly? Yeah, me too." Sonny nodded. "I think it helped when Mr. Stark came over and talked with him."

The bell above the door chimed as someone walked in, stretching. "Hey Danni, is Carla upstairs?" Pete asked. He had closed his eyes while stretching and now he opened them to see Sonny. "Oh…hey Sonny." 

Sonny cleared his throat awkwardly. "Hey Pete." He looked away. "What're you doing here?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

"I'm here to hang with Carla and Nessa." Pete responded. "Okay?" 

"Okay." Sonny nodded, looking down. "I guess I'll uh…talk to you later." He looked down, waving by to Danni and walking out.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a while and I apologize for that, but school and the holidays and such. Like I got a lot goin on my dudes, but yeah. Hope you like it, if ya do, you know what to do

Sonny knew what he had to do. He just didn't know how to do it. But coming up with a plan was just more time where he was debating on not telling him at all, so he had no real choice but to walk to Pete's favorite alley and approach his best friend. "Hey Pete."

"Sonny." Pete responded, not looking up from where he was crouching over a couple of cans of paint. 

"Listen Pete, I know things have been tough between us lately, but I get the feeling that once I explain some things it'll get better." Sonny took a deep breath. "I know your secret." He said quickly. 

"What?" Pete demanded, face red. "Who told you I'm gay?" 

"Nobody told me-wait. You're gay?" Sonny asked, his face heating up as well. 

Pete cleared his throat, looking away. "Uh…no? What secret were you talking about?" 

"I uh…" Sonny shook his head, clearing the thought that Pete was gay out of his mind. "I know you've been robbing banks. And no ones told me or anything, I know, because I'm Spider-Man." 

Pete looked at Sonny like he was crazy. "You're insane." He mumbled, shaking his head. "I get cut up in one little fight and suddenly you're spitting out conspiracy theories." 

"It's true and I know it!" Sonny said. "Just wait here a sec." Sonny hurried off behind a wall to strip down and pull on his Spider-Man costume. He came out, disguising his voice as he normally would. "Pete, I got into a fight with a guy we call the prowler. During the fight I accidentally had my suit set to kill and I stabbed him through the shoulder. Just where your bandage is." Sonny came up behind Pete and poking said shoulder. 

"You're cra-" Pete froze. "S-Sonny?" He scrambled off of the box he had been sitting on. He landed on his bottom, he crawled backwards, keeping his wide, frightened eyes on Sonny. "What're you gonna do to me? Are you gonna turn me in?" He asked, scowling at the person he used to think was his friend. 

"What? Pete, of course not!" Sonny exclaimed, pulling his mask off half of the way, so he could speak more freely. "No matter what, you're my best friend, and I…care about you." Sonny almost said love, but he knew better. "I know why you're doing this, and I'm gonna help you out if you can help me and Mr. Stark." Sonny said, kneeling in front of Pete. 

Pete sighed, getting to his feet and dusting himself off. "I don't need your charity, Son." He asserted weakly. 

Sonny let out a groan. "In what way is this charity?" He demanded frustratedly. "This is mutually beneficial! You're getting a way out of the shitty situation you got yourself into and in the process you're helping me fight a crime organization!" 

Pete walked around Sonny, moving to inspect his paint cans once more. 

Sonny almost let out a scream. "What the fuck are you doing?" He demanded. "I'm trying to help you! It wouldn't be charity because you're helping me too!" Pete still didn't respond, keeping his gaze on the wall, despite his desire to turn and face Sonny. 

Sonny groaned loudly in frustration and exasperation. "You stupid-" He paced behind Pete. "I love you but fuck! You're being so fucking proud and annoying! Why won't you let me help you?" He demanded, grabbing Pete's shoulder and pulling him up so he was standing. Despite Pete's slight height advantage, Sonny still felt like he was towering above him. "If you had just let someone help you in the first fucking place, none of this would have happened!" 

"I get it! I'm a major screw up, okay? You're morally righteous and good and smart and fucking Spider-Man for god's sake! What more do you want to tell me?" 

"I want to tell you to stop being such a dick and let me help you!" Sonny huffed, not backing down.

Pete let out a huff. "I don't need your help." 

"I could have killed you!" Sonny exclaimed, his voice coming dangerously close to breaking. "I've been feeling so guilty recently because I hurt you so badly! I could have killed you and not even known!" Sonny felt tears pricking the corners of his eyes. "Fuck! What would I have done if I had killed you?" The thought of it was enough for Sonny's chest to tighten. "Pete…please, I'm so worried about you. Please, please, please, help me stop this. Help me help you." Sonny was begging, holding onto Pete's arms like he was a lifeline, which at this point, maybe he was. 

Pete looked at Sonny and felt himself come close to tearing up as well. He sighed. "Fine." He finally gave in. 

Sonny smiled widely. He let go of Pete's arms and wrapped his arms around his friend's torso, burying his face in his chest. "Thank you so much." He mumbled, taking a deep breath. Pete smelled really good for some reason, a mix of paint and his deodorant, oddly extremely pleasant. 

Pete felt awkward. Of course he loved having Sonny like this, but it was still just weird. It took him a moment but eventually he returned the embrace and was able to take as much comfort in it as Sonny was. After a minute or so, Pete patted Sonny's back and pulled away. "Okay, now go take that suit off before someone sees you. Then we can talk some more about…things." Pete nodded.

Sonny nodded, taking a deep breath and smiling, before he started backing up to where he had changed and left his clothes earlier. Bits of ideas and the conversation swam through his brain without urgency, though most were matters of some importance. But it was okay, because now Sonny had Pete on his side. And together they could do anything.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter ooh! Sorry its been a while guys, but winter break is almost here so I may be able to finish this up in good time

Pete paced back and forth in an alley by the warehouse. "You sure that Iron Man is showin' up?" He paused, asking Sonny, his voice muffled by his suit. 

"Positive." Sonny said, in his normal voice, not feeling the need to embody spider man at the moment. "He texted me and said he was on his way." 

"You said that half an hour ago!" Pete huffed. "Where the fuck is he?" 

"He could've been in China for all we know!" Sonny retorted. "Chill out, everything's gonna be okay." 

"Are you sure we can trust this guy?" Pete asked, clearly very nervous with the whole exchange. 

"It's fuckin Iron Man! Of course we can trust him!" Sonny exclaimed. He couldn't believe how nervous Pete was. "Are you okay, Pete?" Sonny asked. 

"Yeah, I just wish he'd show up before they leave!" Pete said, slight frustration in his tone. 

"Got anything else you need to get off your chest?" Iron Man descended from the sky, arms crossed over his chest. "It was Taiwan, just so you know." He corrected Sonny. 

"Mr. Stark, one quick question, is that really you or just the suit?" Sonny asked, knowing that he could remotely fly the suit from anywhere. Tony removed his mask, revealing that he was in fact there. "Okay, thanks, just checkin' up." Sonny nodded.

Stark hovered over to Pete, looking him up and down suspiciously. "So you're this prowler I've heard so much about?" 

"And you're the Iron Man I see everywhere on the news." Pete retorted, trying to act tougher than he was. 

"And you're the Pete I've heard so much about." Tony said, putting his hands on his hips. 

Sonny decided this was a good time to butt in. He stepped between them. "Alright, we can talk more after we bust the bad guys that we're here to get, okay?" 

Pete grumbled his agreement and Tony nodded. "Good leadership, kid." 

They all approached the front door before Tony scoffed. "Newbies." He said, flying up to the roof. Sonny and Pete exchanged a look and followed him. "Back up a little and watch and learn how a real hero does it." Tony lowered his fist and blasted a laser through the roof of the building, dropping through it. Sonny sighed and jumped in behind him. Pete followed, a bit more hesitant. 

"Alright, boys." Tony said, looking around at the den full of henchmen. "You've got about five minutes until he cops show up, now is this gonna be easy or hard?" He asked, landing on the ground. He heard someone cock a gun and he sighed. "Alright, hard way." Tony knocked the three closest men out with ease and Sonny started on the other side, tying men up in web. 

Pete, however, ran straight through the room to the leader, an older man in his fifties or so with salt and peppered hair and a sour attitude. He saw Pete coming too late and soon Pete had tackled him to the ground and had him pinned against the floor. 

"Pete?" The man exclaimed, struggling underneath him. "What are you doing? Traitor! I gave you that suit! I gave you everything!" 

"You gave me a shitty job that was worth even less than it paid!" Pete exclaimed furiously. "You took advantage of me! You put my life in danger!" 

The man coughed as Pete put more weight onto his chest. "Well what do you think they'll do? They're using you! Once you leave that drag you to jail! You're the one that robbed all those banks, not me!" The man laughed and it took everything out of Pete not to strangle him where he laid. 

But in spite of himself, anxiety rose in Pete's chest. What if they did put him in jail? What would his mom do? Pete considered letting the man go, but he heard something. Pete heard Sonny making a lame superhero quip behind him. And the sound of his friend was enough to reassure him. Pete shook his head. "It's not going to happen." 

"Oh what, did Iron Man promise? You think that bitchass keeps his promises?" The man asked, still struggling slightly. 

"I don't know about him." Pete admitted. "But I know for damn certain that Spider Man won't let anything happen to me." 

The man scoffed. "God! It's like you're in love with him. How pathetic!" 

Pete lifted his chin. "At least I'm not going to jail for life." He said. 

It was at this point that Sonny yelled out. "Watch out Pete! I'm gonna get his legs and stuff." Sonny started cementing the man's legs to the floor with web. He then move on to his arms. "Okay, you don't have to sit on him anymore." Sonny said. 

Tony flew over. "Police'll be here in five." He looked at the pair. "Either of you two amateurs need any bandages or hospital trips?" He asked. 

"I'm good." Pete mumbled. 

Sonny nodded in agreement. "We're cool, Mr. Stark." He pulled off his mask and stretched his arms behind his head. "Thanks for coming to help us out." 

"Thanks for actually telling me what was happening instead of you rushing yourself into a stupid situation you couldn't handle." Tony responded with a shrug. Pete rolled his eyes, and somehow through the mask, Tony saw it. "Watch yourself kid." He warned him. He turned back to Sonny. "You two need a ride home?" 

"Nah." Sonny shrugged. "I got it. Thanks though!" He smiled. 

Tony hovered over and ruffled Sonny's hair. "Take care, kid. I'll see you again soon." He then pointed at Pete. "I'll see you soon too. We have to have a little talk." 

Pete swallowed. That could not be good…


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's gonna be one or two more chapters of this and then it's over! So yeah, hope you enjoy and if you do, leave a comment maybe

Pete whistled, shaking up a can of spray paint as he looked at the lines he did for his latest masterpiece. This one would have Iron Man, Spider Man, and a mysterious guy in black. He started getting to work, his whistling turning to an old song he heard in the bodega a thousand times. He was so focused on his work he didn't even notice when a figure appeared at the entrance of the alleyway. 

Tony Stark was out of place in the alley, though the places he did fit in were few and far between. Still he strode into the alleyway as if he had just bought it and was going to break the news to its current resident. Tony walked up to Pete and clapped him on the back. "Hey there Pete." He greeted, as Pete jumped and looked up at him startled. 

"Mr. Stark." Pete managed to get out. "What are you doin' here?" 

"It's time for our little talk." Tony shrugged, walking a bit away and looking up at Pete's portrait of Spider Man that he had done what seemed like lifetimes ago. "This your work?" 

"Uh…yeah." Pete nodded, nervously. 

"I see." Tony backed up and took a picture of it on his phone, texting quickly. 

"May I ask why?" Pete inquired, putting his paint down and moving to stand by Tony. 

"Sonny told me you were an artist. Tried to tell me how good you are. He's good with words though, so I was pretty sure he was exaggerating." Tony said, not looking away from the portrait. 

"I see…" Pete did not see. He didn't get whatever it was Stark was trying to get at. 

Tony's phone buzzed in his hand and he looked down. "Ah! Perfect." He smiled. He turned towards Pete. "How'd you like a job?" 

Pete was dumbstruck and confused. "What?" 

"A job." Tony repeated. "Painting murals for me. Beginning at the new avengers museum opening up downtown, and from there we'll see. Possibly every Stark owned building across the country." 

"You're kidding me." Pete said, not believing it, but desperately wanting to. 

Tony shook his head, taking his sunglasses off to better look Pete in the eyes. He put his hands on Pete's shoulders. "You've got talent, kid. This is incredible, I sent it to my partner and she loves it. I'll send it out to the avengers and I know they'll love it. Sonny? Already loves it, he's your biggest fan. God he wouldn't shut up about you for the days around the job. And from what I've heard from his cousin it's even worse just at home. Anyone that kid likes so much can't be so bad." Tony threw his arm around Pete's shoulder. "Besides, he let me know about your situation and I wanna help after what you've done for me." 

Pete stood shell shocked, staring dumbly at Tony Stark. "Wow." He mumbled. "Uh yeah, of course. I'd love to work for you Mr. Stark. Thank you so much!" A smile came across his face so wide that it hurt. 

"Perfect!" Tony clapped his hands together, stepping away. "Now for part two, we're doing a bit of traveling, so pack up all your stuff." 

"Part two? There's more?" Pete asked incredulously, doing as Stark said and putting his things up. 

"This is admittedly less fun for you." Tony shrugged. "But it'll be good for you in the long run." 

Pete felt fear course through his veins. "Nothing bad's gonna happen to me, right?" He demanded. 

"Oh! No, no, no, don't worry." Tony assured him. "It's nothing like that." 

"Okay…" Pete said uncertainly. "Is Sonny gonna be there?" 

"That's actually what we need to talk about." Tony said. 

"Huh?" Pete stepped towards Tony, confusion on his face. 

"Just wait till we get to the place." Tony sighed, clapping Pete on the shoulder and leading him into a limo. 

Pete let out a whistle as he checked out all the things in the limo. He was so busy inspecting it that he didn't notice where they were going till they stopped. It was just the bodega. They entered, Pete's confusion only growing. 

Usnavi stepped out from behind the counter and started leading them upstairs to his apartment. "Hey Sonny! Watch the store for a bit, I got some business to take care of." He called. 

Pete tried to stop and see Sonny but Tony kept pushing him forward. They arrived in Sonny and Usnavi's apartment, and Usnavi took a seat on the couch. Tony gestured to the seat across from him for Pete and he sat down next to Usnavi. 

"So…uh what's going on?" Pete asked, extremely confused. 

"What are your intentions with Sonny?" Tony asked, lacing his fingers together. 

"Um what?" Pete asked, speechless. 

"Sonny doesn't wanna admit it, but he likes you." Usnavi said. "And everyone knows you only have eyes for my little cousin." 

"So the question remains, what are your intentions with him? And choose your words carefully, I can call the suit to me in seconds." Tony said with an air that suggested it was a joke. But Pete didn't really want to take the chance. 

"Um…I don't know. I really haven't given it much thought." Pete lied, biting his lip. "It'd be nice to go out with him, but I don't wanna ruin our friendship. Besides he's a couple years younger than me, I don't wanna feel like I'm taking advantage, besides he might be headin' off to college soon. And all that hinges on whether or not he's actually interested." Pete shrugged, looking away. "So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm not gonna make any moves on him. Anything that happens I want it to be his choice and his choice alone." 

"Not much thought my ass." Usnavi mumbled. "But good answer, Pete." 

"If I may make one suggestion." Tony said, standing from his seat and perching himself on the arm of Pete's chair. "Tell him all of that shit. Cause even if he's head over heels, he won't make a move unless he knows you feel the same." 

Usnavi rolled his eyes, frowning somewhat, but Pete nodded. "That makes sense. Uh thanks for your blessing, I guess?" 

"Anytime kid." Tony nodded.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's over guys! I don't have any more story to tell you. I like how I ended it and I hope y'all will too. Enjoy! And thanks for sticking around and reading

"Yo Sunshine!" Pete grinned, walking into the bodega with a happy air. 

"What's up, Pete?" Sonny asked, Pete's sunny disposition immediately bringing a smile to his face. 

"Okay so I want you to check out some of my designs for the murals in the new avengers museum." Pete said, sliding a couple of sketches across the counter. 

Sonny let out a whistle, going over the sketches. "Wow, Pete. I think these are just about the best sketches you've ever done." He said, handing them back to him with an impressed look. "Glad to know you're really serious about this job." 

"Of course! Stark is offering me so much, also this is a great opportunity in general." Pete said. "I think the Thor one is my favorite, then Captain America." Pete nodded. 

"I'm kinda offended that Spider-Man isn't your first pick." Sonny pouted. 

"C'mon man you can't blame me, Thor has the physique of a god! Literally!" Pete exclaimed. Sonny rolled his eyes with a chuckle. 

"Okay, I guess he's kinda hot." Sonny acquiesced. "And like I've only met him once, but he's supposed to be really nice." 

Pete smiled. "Yeah…" He licked his lip nervously. "Um but so Sonny there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about." 

Sonny looked at Pete suspiciously. "Yeah? What's up?" 

"Um so…like I kinda ya know…like you and shit." Pete mumbled. "I wasn't planning on telling you, but Stark and Usnavi told me that I should at least give you the option before automatically assuming you'll turn me down. If you don't feel the same way, I blame them and I would like to just pretend that none of this ever happened." Pete rambled on quickly. 

"Whoa, wait, rewind." Sonny said, holding his hand up to stop Pete from talking. "You like like me like me?" He asked, internally cringing at how stupid it sounded. 

"Uh…yes?" Pete offered weakly. 

"So…are you asking me out or something?" Sonny asked, looking down at the counter. 

Pete shook his head quickly. "No." He collected his thoughts for a second before continuing. "Like Sunshine, I really like you and all. I mean I could probably love you, if I'm honest. But you're younger than me, and you could be going to a college far away, and honestly? You deserve a lot better. So no. I'm not asking you out. I just had to tell you. How I feel." Pete said with a nod. 

"Oh." Sonny said, sounding slightly disappointed. "Okay." 

Pete couldn't stop himself from interjecting again. "Thats not to say that I'm against dating you. Cause that'd be super stupid. I'm just saying that if anything ever happens between us it's gonna be cause you initiated it. You're in charge." Pete said, awkwardly shooting finger guns at Sonny. 

"I see…" Sonny said thoughtfully. He looked down for a second before looking back up and smiling at Pete. "Thanks for letting me know. I…I'm gonna be honest, I just need to think a couple of things through before I get back to you." Sonny said, taking off his hat and running his hand through his hair. 

Pete nodded, forcing a laugh and grabbing his sketches. "Of course, as long as we're still friends, I'm cool with anything." He smiled at Sonny, backing towards the door. 

"I'll text you later!" Sonny called after him. 

Pete felt a flood of emotions rush over him as he walked down the street away from the bodega. Once he was a block away he was finally able to catch his breath. He did it. He finally told Sonny that he had a crush on him. And he didn't exactly get rejected. Only a little bit of rejection. 

Sonny just lowered his head down onto the counter. He covered his head and groaned. He should have told Pete everything right then. It wasn't fair. Pete put his heart out on his sleeve and the best Sonny could do was "I need to think things through." He ought to have told Pete that he's had a crush on him since they first met. He didn't know what stopped him from telling him, he just didn't. 

"Hey Sonny, no napping on the job." Usnavi slammed a hand on the counter next to Sonny's head to wake him up. 

"I'm not asleep. I'm dying of stupidity." Sonny responded. 

"I feel like I could've told you that." Usnavi teased, coming around the counter. "What's up, Sonny?" 

"Pete gave me a whole big speech about how he likes me and I said that I needed to think. Even though I should've just told him." 

"That's pretty harsh." Usnavi agreed. "Even if you didn't like him you should've at least tell him. And you do like him." 

"Yeah." Sonny grumbled. "What should I do?" 

"Go after him." Usnavi shrugged. "You did well helping me get a date, let's see if you can do it for yourself." 

Sonny looked at Usnavi suspiciously. "When did you start liking Pete?" 

Usnavi shrugged. "He had a smart, well thought out and considerate plan for what to do regarding his feelings. He's got a good paying job now. Iron man approves of him. Seems pretty good to me." 

Sonny nodded with a sigh. "You're right." He looked at the door. "I'll be back." He said, going out into the alley and changing into his Spider-Man costume quickly. He started swinging from building to building, looking for Pete. He finally saw him, in his favorite alley for his paintings. Sonny swung onto a fire escape. "I didn't expect to find you here." He said, hanging upside down from the fire escape and descending so he was at face level with Pete. 

Pete shrugged. "It's still a good place to sketch at least. What're you doing here?" He asked glancing over at Sonny. "And why are you upside down?" He asked walking towards him. 

"I dunno. It just feels right." Sonny said with a shrug. "And I'm here to tell you, I love you too, Pete. I don't know what the future'a gonna look like, college, super hero stuff, but I know for sure that I want you in it." 

Pete stood in silence for a moment, just staring at Sonny. He approached Sonny and pulled his mask off. He looked seriously into Sonny's eyes. "Do you really mean it?" He put his hand on Sonny's cheek. "You didn't need to answer me so quickly." 

Sonny took the plunge and leaned forward so he pressed his lips to Pete's. It was awkward and clumsy, likely because Sonny was hanging upside down. Sonny pulled away. "I wanted to." He said, dropping to the ground. "I wanna be with you, if you'll have me." 

"Of course." Pete grinned, pulling Sonny into a hug.


End file.
